Many people ask “Why would anyone want their portrait painted?” It is a legitimate question when you consider in this day and age with cell phone cameras you can capture anyones picture at any moment. The question is, are you actually capturing that person in that moment?. When an artist paints a portrait, whether it be from life or from a photograph, they are telling a story about the person in that moment. A good portrait captures not just an image of a person but also engages the viewer to wonder about the person.

Our artists love looking at and capturing each person’s story. Taking the time to reflect on who this person is, what their personality is like and telling a story about the person they are painting. Each viewer takes something different away from the portrait. Some see what the artist saw and others see something completely different. Hence the saying “Art is Subjective”….meaning it is Subject to each individual’s interpretation.

Our artists work from your favorite photographs as means of helping to tell this story. You already have an attachment to the photograph(s) you are giving us to work from. You already know where it was taken, what is was taken for, what happened just before and just after the picture was taken. Now let us take it a step further and give you back an image that will engage you forever. It allows you to remember all those things, yet also wonder what the artist saw and what are they trying to say thru the portrait.

When deciding to get a portrait done, here are a few things to keep in mind.

1.) The better the reference picture, the better the final portrait. Remember, an artist can only paint what they see. If you give us a photo that does not capture the person at their best, you will not get back a portrait that looks any better than the original reference picture. So take the time to find the best pictures for the artists to work from.

2.) Do not send us shots with more than just the person you want us to paint. We need the clearest most close up picture of the person in order to give back the best portrait. The more people in the photo you send the smaller each face is. also…do not think that taking a picture with a bunch of people in it and then cropping out everyone except for the person you want us to paint is going to work….it doesn’t, it just makes a bad picture bigger, not better)

3.) Do not send us obituary pictures,

4.) do not send old grainy pictures from an old photo album or photos that are no clean a clear, not blurry or washed out.

5.) Do not send full body pictures where you just want us to paint the face.

6.) What if I do not like the final portrait?

You will NOT like the final portrait if you send us any of the above types of pictures.

Also…If you are looking at having a photo realistic painting done, then take a picture….a portrait is NOT a photograph and it is NOT an exact copy of a photograph and you will therefore NOT like the final result. A portrait is an artists interpretation of the reference he or she is painting. There is a famous story of Gertrude Stein not liking the portrait that Pablo Picasso painted for her She said it didn’t look like her, to which the artists replied “it Will” He was referring to the fact that long after the famous writer passed, the world would look at that painting and remember her. Again…”Art is Subjective”.

7.) How long does it take?, How much does it cost?….these are two questions that can not be answered until we see the reference pictures we are painting, a size is determined, and a surface is chosen (canvas, wood, metal, fabric etc…)

To get started with your portrait, call us at 513-671-0758 or email us at artist@anythingairbrushed.com

Below are a few examples portraits our artists have done over the years.